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Edward Dahlberg
Edward Dahlberg (July 22, 1900 - February 27, 1977) was an American poet, novelist, essayist and autobiographer. [http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-DahlbergEdward.html Oxford Companion to American Literature Hart JD and Leininger PW,(Oxford University Press: 1995)] Life Youth Edward Dahlberg was born in Boston, Massachusetts to Elizabeth Dahlberg. Together mother and son led a vagabond existence, until 1905 when she operated the Star Lady Barbershop in Kansas City. In April 1912 Dahlberg was sent to the Jewish Orphan Asylum, in Cleveland, Ohio, where he lived until 1917. He eventually attended the University of California, Berkeley (1922-1923) and Columbia University (where he earned a B.S. in philosophy in 1925). [http://www.jrank.org/literature/pages/3738/Edward-Dahlberg.html Edward Dahlberg Biography (Net Industries)] Career He enlisted in the Army in 1918, amidst the last few weeks of World War I. In the late 1920s Dahlberg became part of the expatriate group of American writers living in Paris. His debut novel, Bottom Dogs, based on his childhood experiences at the orphanage and his travels in the American West, was published in London with an introduction by D.H. Lawrence. With his advance money, Dahlberg returned to New York City, residing in Greenwich Village. He visited Germany in 1933 and in reaction briefly joined the Communist Party, but left the Party by 1936. From the 1940s onwards, Dahlberg made his living as an author, and also taught at various colleges and universities. In 1948, he taught briefly at the experimental Black Mountain College. He was replaced by his friend and fellow author, Charles Olson, on the faculty of Black Mountain College. [http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0005_0_04811.html Edward Dahlberg (Encyclopaedia Judaica)] He was an expatriate writer of the 1920s, a proletarian novelist of the 1930s, a spokesman for a fundamental humanism in the 1940s. For a number of years, Dahlberg devoted himself to literary study. His extensive readings of the works of Dante, Shakespeare, Thoreau, and many others, resulted in a writing style quite different from the social realism that characterized his earlier writing. He moved to the Danish island of Bornholm in 1955 while working on The Flea of Sodom. The Sorrows of Priapus was published in 1957, becoming his most successful book thus far. He later moved to Mallorca, while working on Because I Was Flesh, an autobiography which was published in 1964. During the 1960s and 1970s, he became quite prolific and further refined his unique style through the publication of poetry, autobiographical works, fiction, and criticism.[http://www.bookrags.com/biography/edward-dahlberg-dlb/ Biography on Edward Dahlberg (Dictionary of Literary)] Personal life He married R'Lene LaFleur Howell in 1950. Dahlberg died in Santa Barbara, California, on February 27, 1977. [http://www.gf.org/fellows/3234-edward-dahlberg Edward Dahlberg. 1976, Fiction (John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation)] Frank McCourt wrote a scathing review of their social relationship on pages 103-7 of his biography, Teacher Man. Recognition In 1968 Dahlberg was elected to the National Institute of Arts and Letters. In 1976, he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship. Publications Poetry *''Cipango’s Hinder Door''. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 1965. Novels *''Bottom Dogs'' (introduction by D.H. Lawrence). London: Putnam's, 1929; San Francisco: City Lights, 1961. *''From Flushing to Calvary''. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1932. *''Those Who Perish''. New York: John Day, 1934. *''Bottom Dogs, From Flushing to Calvary, Those who Perish, and hitherto unpublished and uncollected works''. New York: Crowell, 1976. *''The Olive of Minerva; or, The comedy of a cuckold''. New York: Crowell, 1976. Non-fiction *''Do These Bones Live'' (essays). New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1941. **revised as Sing O Barren. . London: Routledge, 1947. **revised as Can These Bones Live. New York: New Directions, 1960. *''The Flea of Sodom'' (essays & parables). London: Peter Nevill, 1950; Norfolk, CT: New Directions, 1950. *''The Sorrows of Priapus'' (illustrated by Ben Shahn). New York: New Directions, 1957. *''Truth Is More Sacred: A critical exchange on modern literature'' (with Herbert Read). London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1961. *''Because I Was Flesh: The autobiography of Edward Dahlberg''. New York: New Directions, 1963. *''Alms for Oblivion: Essays''. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 1964. *''Reasons of the Heart'' (maxims). New York: Horizon Press, 1965. *''The Leafless American''. Sausalito, CA: R. Beacham, 1967. *''The Carnal Myth: A search into classical sensuality''. New York: Weybright & Talley, 1968. *''The Confessions of Edward Dahlberg'' (autobiography and fiction). New York: G. Brazillier, 1971. Collected editions *''The Dahlberg Reader'' (edited by Paul Carroll). New York: New Directions, 1967. *''Samuel Beckett's Wake, and other uncollected prose'' (edited by Steven Moore). Elmwood Park, IL: Dalkey Archive Press, 1989. *''The Leafless American, and other writings'' (edited by Harold Billings). New Paltz, NY: McPherson, 1986. Letters *''Epitaphs of Our Times: The letters of Edward Dahlberg''. New York: G. Brazillier, 1967. *''In Love, in Sorrow: The complete correspondence of Charles Olson and Edward Dahlberg'' (with Charles Olson; edited by Paul Christensen). New York: Paragon, 1990. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:Edward Dahlberg, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, June 22, 2014. See also * List of U.S. poets References *Billings, Harold A Bibliography of Edward Dahlberg (Harry Ransom Humanities; 1971) ISBN 978-0-87959-037-6 *Moramarco, Fred S. Edward Dahlberg (Twayne Publishing. 1972) ISBN 978-0-8057-0180-7 *DeFanti, Charles The Wages of Expectation: A Biography of Edward Dahlberg (New York University Press. 1978) ISBN 978-0-8147-1764-6 *Solomon, William, Literature, Amusement, and Technology in the Great Depression (Cambridge University Press: 2002) ISBN 0-521-81343-3 Notes External links ;Poems * Edward Dahlberg 1900-1977 at the Poetry Foundation ;Books *Edward Dahlberg at Amazon.com ;About *Edward Dahlberg at the Jewish Virtual Library *Edward Dahlberg at New Directions ;Etc. *Guide to the Edward Dahlberg Papers at Stanford University *University of Tulsa McFarlin Library's inventory of Edward Dahlberg papers Category:American essayists Category:American novelists Category:Members of the Communist Party USA Category:1900 births Category:1977 deaths Category:American people of Swedish descent Category:20th-century poets Category:American poets Category:English-language poets Category:Poets Category:Columbia University alumni Category:University of California, Berkeley alumni